Darth Vader himself reminds West Indianola kids to 'eat their sprouts'

The process of getting Darth Vader to West Indianola Elementary School was years in the making but came together in one short weekend.

Cristin Casteel, a third-grade teacher at the school, and her husband, Pat, had been at Planet Comicon in Kansas City on Friday when they ran into their old friend Spencer Wilding.

Wilding — a Welsh actor and 6-foot-7-inch kickboxer who has played "bad guy" roles like Darth Vader and the werewolf in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," as well as appearances on "Doctor Who" — had years ago given a speech at Pat's former school, Capital City High School.

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But the Casteels are avid convention attendees, and they kept running into Wilding, who had grown a special spot in his heart for the home state of Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" (Wilding's manager, Staci Williams, also owns Petland Topeka).

Wilding and Pat bonded over a shared a love of kickboxing, and the actor even held a virtual interview with West Indianola Elementary School teachers in spring 2020, to be shared with the school's students.

So when the Casteels met Wilding again on Friday, Cristin had a simple question for the larger-than-life actor.

Would he come make the day of hundreds of Topeka kids?

How tall is Spencer Wilding, and how did he get that tall?

After a quick call to principal Tami Wade on Friday, the school enthusiastically made preparations to host Wilding for a school-wide assembly Monday afternoon.

The actor entered the school gym Monday to cheers from hundreds of excited elementary school students, and Wilding took questions from about the same number of raised hands eager to learn more about him. He explained he might sound kind of funny, on account of his accent.

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How tall was he? He was 6-foot-7-inches, although for most of his life he'd been 6-foot-6-inches and mysteriously grew another inch this past year.

How did he get that tall? Well, that may be a better question "for the man upstairs."

Is he good at basketball? Funny story — he used to be, but only when he was average height at age 15. As he grew tall, he also grew out of being good at basketball.

How high can he kick? He wouldn't show them (since he hadn't stretched and was wearing tight pants) but he pointed to a spot about a foot taller than Janelle Hamilton, the sign language interpreter who was standing next to him.

Spencer Wilding is dyslexic, but that can also be a gift, he tells students

Growing up, Wilding told the West Indianola students that he struggled in school. He was dyslexic, and he was far from being "the teacher's favorite" because he couldn't read or write properly.

"When you're children, you need attention, right?" Wilding said. "So I was a class clown."

That turned out to be a gift, though. Though Wilding had trouble expressing himself in words, he found he had a knack for physicality and using his body to communicate. It was these skills he relied on as he became a kickboxer and later on when he broke into the acting world.

"I found different ways to learn my dialogue and read books and things like that," he said. "So if it's you or if there's anybody in the room with dyslexia, don't beat yourself up. Just find different ways, or what work for you."

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Wade, the principal, said Wilding's visit was "such a special treat for students."

"It was something for them to really look forward to," she said. "Some of them had seen his interview a few years ago, but it's so much more exciting for them to meet a real actor in person and ask them all these questions about movies."

Before leaving, the Welsh actor huddled together with the hundreds of students for several group photos, towering over even the outstretched hands of the sixth-graders.

He reminded the students to respect their elders, go to bed early and try their best in school.

"Keep yourselves safe, and remember: Look both ways before crossing the road, and eat your sprouts," he said.

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Spencer Wilding, who played Darth Vader, meets West Indianola students